Syria at Asian Games 2026: Rebuilding Without Football
Syria’s men’s football team was dropped from the 2026 field entirely, leaving boxing — the country’s deepest well of Asian Games medals — to carry a program navigating post-Assad institutional change.
Syria’s Asian Games Track Record
Syria’s most recent medals were both bronze: Majd Eddin Ghazal in athletics (men’s high jump) at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, and Ahmad Ghousoon in boxing (men’s 80kg) at the 2022/23 Hangzhou Games, where he also served as flag bearer before losing his semifinal to the Philippines’ Eumir Marcial.
| Edition | Rank | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Jakarta-Palembang | 37th | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022/23 Hangzhou | 38th | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Source: Syria at the 2018 Asian Games and Syria at the 2022 Asian Games, Wikipedia.
Syria’s Strongest Sports
Boxing is Syria’s strongest sport by all-time Asian Games medal count, with 11 total medals including 2 golds, ahead of wrestling (7 medals), karate (5), swimming (4), and weightlifting (3, including Syria’s first-ever Asian Games gold, won by Talal Najjar in 1978). Athletics has produced 2 medals, most recently Majd Eddin Ghazal’s 2018 high jump bronze.
Syria’s Official Squads by Sport
No official Syrian Olympic Committee roster for the 2026 Asian Games has been published as of this writing, and the country’s men’s football team will not compete.
Confirmed via official federation/media sources
| Sport | Key Named Athletes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| No individually named 2026 Asian Games athletes have been officially confirmed for Syria. | ||
Reported but not yet formally finalized
| Sport | Notes |
|---|---|
| Boxing | Ahmad Ghousoon, Syria’s 2023 boxing bronze medalist and flag bearer, has no confirmed 2026 selection but remains the country’s most recent Asian Games medalist and a plausible contender |
| Athletics | Alisar Youssef, Syria’s sole entrant at the 2025 World Athletics Championships (100m), is currently active but has no confirmed link to the 2026 Asian Games roster |
Team confirmed, no roster yet / not found
| Sports |
|---|
| Wrestling, Weightlifting, Karate, Swimming, Judo, Cycling, Table Tennis, Gymnastics, Archery |
Storylines to Watch
Football’s exclusion: Syria’s men’s football team was dropped from the 2026 field, alongside Jordan and Lebanon, in favor of Kuwait and North Korea — a significant blow to the country’s highest-profile team sport.
Institutional rebuilding: Syria’s newly established sports ministry, formed after the fall of the Assad government, is working to repair heavily damaged sports infrastructure and lift international sanctions on Syrian sport ahead of 2026.
Boxing’s deep legacy: as Syria’s all-time strongest Asian Games sport, boxing offers the clearest path to a medal, led by returning 2023 bronze medalist Ahmad Ghousoon if he is selected.